Pregnancy Check-In (April 20)

[ionaerebor]

Good morning everyone! I hope nobody minds me starting the check in today, work is slow. 

This is the roster. Give me a shout if something is wrong, or if I've missed anyone. 

@twoatlmoms - TODAY

calsurb - June 4


@bigko - June 19


megd893- June 22


kevinandjesse-July 19


twotxmommies- July 27


rosieelk- August 2


jgy- August 21


karlamo- August 28


healz413 & manada- September 8


officerofthelaw- November 11


ionaerebor- November 23


leftitblank- ??


QOTW: What is your LO going to call you and your partner?

[megd893]

Good morning all!
Today marks 31 weeks pregnant for me and my now-pineapple boy.
We've had an interesting weekend of the boy being unusually quiet. Yesterday I noticed I was leaking fluid (not discharge) and got worried. This, coupled with his decreased movements made for an unrestful sleep last night and a call to my doc this morning. K thinks I should head to the hospital, but I dont want to overreact... I have an appointment at 1:50pm today, so we'll see how things go.

QOTW: We decided I would be Ma/Mama, and K would be Mom/Mommy. However, we've already found ourselves mixing them up! We're going to try to stick to this, but I think eventually he'll have his own ideas.

[kevinandjesse]

Thinking of you, megd893 !!! Hope all is well and your appointment goes smoothly today! (and I LOL'ed at "now pineapple boy" haha)


Today is 27w+1d!!! A milestone my best friend celebrated with us by making a cake that said "Happy Fetal Viability Day" (hahaha in the shake my head kinda way.) Happy our LO has a 85-90% chance if delivered now, so that's mildly reassuring... but it doesn't look like he's going anywhere anytime soon. He seems perfectly comfy in there. Excited for next week's ultrasound! Hoping to see a lot of growth especially in the head circumference area (u/s at 20 weeks measured in the 8th percentile)

QOTW: What is your LO going to call you and your partner?
Dad/Daddie/Dads - We're hoping our LO just sorts this out on his own (translation - we have no idea yet haha)

[karlamo]

megd893, That is scary. Hope all is welll. I can almost gaurantee you, your doctor would want to know these things ASAP, so don't feel like you're bothering them. Good luck today.

kevinandjesse, What a great day! I hope at your appointment you get reassuring news.

As for me, I'm 21w4d. Baby Moka is kicking more and more each day. It is such a great feeling and one I am savoring and hope never to get used to.
Wednesday we are organizing our baby stuff. We need to see which items we are planning to reuse and what we need to buy. R was never a fan of the swing and the swing we had was just lousy anyway. We're thinking of buying a nicer model. I may wait to buy it right before the baby's here so if baby doesn't like it we can still return it. We need to get a crib but I'm in no rush since we will keep them in our room for the first 3 months.

QOTD: We go by my wife being Mama and me Mom. R is 14 months so he doesn't refer to us by name yet. One of us should have picked Dadda since that's what he says all day.

[healz413]

Thinking of you megd893! Let us know how the appointment goes, please.

Congratulations on making it to 27 weeks, kevinandjesse. That's a significant milestone.

manada and I are 19w6d today, but our MW is using a due date that is two days earlier, so by that due date, we reached 20 weeks yesterday. This is a big deal in Canada because starting at 20 weeks, you go to labour and delivery for an emergencies (rather than the emergency room). And if you do have a loss, it's treated as an actual birth (either stillbirth or live birth and neonatal death) and you get to determine what will happen with your baby's body.

We had a couple of mild (but didn't feel so mild) scares this weekend. On Friday night, I had a lot of mild but sharp pain in my lower right side. I was worried that it was the onset of appendicitis or something worse, but after lying on my side for a while and changing positions, I decided it was gas. I've reached the evening bloat and gas stage! I'm going to try to have smaller meals more often instead of big dinners. Hopefully that will help.

Then on Saturday morning it felt like I was developing a UTI. Especially because we were still on edge from the night before, we weren't taking any chances and went to a walk in clinic for a urine test. The doctor said there was no bacteria in my urine and that either I didn't have a UTI or that it was very very early. So he sent me home to drink lots of fluids and pee a lot. I haven't had any UTI symptoms since Saturday afternoon.

I think that a lot of things are changing in my body right now and that Rocky is starting to move more and more. While I'm not feeling many things that actually feel like mini-kicks, I think my insides are getting gently battered by Rocky. Rocky was probably on my bladder on Saturday and I wasn't used to the feeling yet.

I think they're kicking me in a weird spot at the top of my pelvis this morning. Or maybe something else is growing/stretching. I don't really know. I'm just trying not to worry about it too much.

We have a midwife appointment on Wednesday and then on Thursday we go back to try to finish our anatomy scan. Hopefully Rocky will have shifted positions by then so that the tech can get the right pictures of the heart and face (and hopefully that's all good).

We've got a lot of upcoming milestones that we will hopefully make. First is 20 weeks which we hit yesterday for the MW and will hit tomorrow for us. Then is 21w 1d which is a week from Wednesday. We lost our twins at 21 weeks. Then is 23 weeks, when, if a baby comes, you get to have a say in whether they try to keep the baby alive. Then is 24 weeks and official viability (50/50 chance). Then is 27/28 weeks when viability goes way up.

This is a very stressful time for both manada and me with all of these milestones and changes happening. We're trying to help bring positivity to the experience by having M read to Rocky a lot and doing Raffi sing-alongs. We discovered yesterday that our dog loves it when we sing-along to Raffi.

QOTW: Our plan is for M to be Mama and for me to be Baba. I think we will both be Mom, but it's possible that if Rocky really takes to the Mama/Baba, then "Mom" will be a more natural linguistic fit for manada. That's fine with me as long as my nickname doesn't become "Bob".

[kevinandjesse]

healz413, wishing these weeks pass by smoothy for you! Happy that all the mild scares (is there really such thing as a mild scare? They all feel so big) turned out ok. Hopefully these upcoming milestones fly by for you and soon you'll be on to your third tri!

[jgy]

So many amazing milestones just achieved or coming up for everyone!

We are 22W3D, and I finally, FINALLY (like, as of this morning), am feeling this guy kick and move around. The ultrasound techs and Midwives have all been telling me that he's very active, but damned anterior placenta has kept me from feeling anything until now. So I'm pretty psyched about this development.

I'm very much looking forward to Friday, which will be our 23 week milestone (as mentioned above), though that comes with a whole new set of concerns and anxieties.

At any rate, I'm feeling reasonably good. I'm dealing with a lot more "Stuff" this pregnancy than with my last, but I think that's to be expected. I could certainly do without the migraines, but since I've given in and started taking Tylenol, things are much more manageable.

The one new thing that I learned at my prenatal appointment last week, is that beginning at 32 weeks (!!) I'll be going in TWICE weekly for appointments. Talk about an adjustment, going from prenatals spaced out every 6 weeks, to going twice weekly will definitely take some getting used to. Because I'm over 40, ACOG recommends induction by 39 weeks due to increased chance of fetal death after 39 weeks. That's not happening with this gal unless we see some clear signs indicating a need. My Midwives and I are on the same page about everything, so that's why I'm okay with all the monitoring. I just wasn't expecting it to start so early.

QOTW: I'm assuming this kiddo will follow along with G's terminology. We wanted to let him decide what he was going to call us, but always kind of figured that I would be Mommy and S would be Mama. That's exactly how it worked out. Sometimes we slip and refer to each other using the other name, but G doesn't seem at all confused.

[megd893]

Thanks for the well wishes guys, it's VERY much appreciated.

I decided that it was silly for me to worry. I went to the hospital (its a 2 minute drive from my office). Went into emerg and was there less than 5 minutes before being sent up to 4th floor/childbirth. They did my intake there, wristbanded me and I was on a bed within 10 minutes. They booked me and my boy up to two monitors (what I think was a fetal stress test) one for my uteran contractions and one to monitor his heartbeat. They also gave me what looked like a jeopardy buzzer/call button to press every time he moved.
20 minutes on that, and found out that he's doing really well - nothing to be concerned about with his kicks. I counted them last night and it was taking a substantial amount of time for him to hit 10 (45-50 minutes when he's usually about 11 minutes). She said not to be concerned unless you do it and feel less than 6 in TWO hours, so that was a relief.
They called my doc who came to the hospital to do a "spec test". Essentially he used the speculum and a light to check my cervix and do a few swabs to make sure what I was leaking wasn't amniotic. It wasn't thank God. So, I was sent on my merry way and told not to hesitate to come back. It's what they're there for

kevinandjesse, 27 weeks is huge! K and I went out for dinner when we hit viability. Enjoy the cake. Enjoy all the cakes! It's awesome. And, I've found myself referring to him as "the boy" a lot lately. I kinda like it
karlamo, where did Moka come from? Interesting nickname We decided not to put a swing on our registry (cause theyre super expensive and baby may hate it). I'll get one of kijiji (craigslist).
healz413, Sounds like a busy weekend... but it also sounds like you're keeping yourself calm. I can't imagine how hard it is to be rational. I'm at the point where if I eat a big meal I'm winded during the meal (funny for K) and feel terrible after. Small meals are awesome. And, you get to see R3 this week!! That's so awesome to be able to spend time staring at your little miracle.

[manada]

Hey All --

So I have feelings, so I'm going to post today. healz413 gave our update -- so far Rocky is doing well, and things are good. Things are changing for H. physically more these days, so that's anxiety producing, but also part of the process.

As healz413 mentioned - Rocky 3 hit that 20 week milestone on Sunday, and so they are now legally a person under Canadian law. That is both reassuring to me, and strikes me as totally f*cked up that I am reassured by that - because all the reasons are mostly in case something really bad happens. This week is a hard one for me though, it's the week leading up to our loss milestone and I am pretty much a bundle of nerves. I had two breakdowns over the weekend - one crying after our visit to the walk-in clinic, and the other in the drug store because I was just too frazzled. I can feel one building now as well, so we'll see if it surfaces today or not, I sense this will be my week.

On the flip side - I have been working on Rocky's name, and we have a strong top-contender. I've also been working on their room a little bit, just clearing out surplus stuff from there, and thinking about which stuff of ours will go into storage in their closet. We'll see how far I get with that, I don't feel the same pressure to get on it as I did with the twins, so I'm just puttering away in there sometimes.

QOTW: H. already answered this - but I just wanted to also note that in the beginning we were going to be Mama and Mommy (H. was going to be Mommy) -- and we "tested" it out with the dog for a good year or more before she decided Mommy didn't feel like a good fit and we found Baba as a better fit, but I'm horrible at lapsing and referring to H. as Mommy when I'm trying to get the dog to do something! Based on this I have a feeling we will end up with me being Mama and H. being some sort of Mom/Baba combo, because I often correct my "mommy" slip mid-way and end up with something that sounds like MomBaba! We'll see how that goes! I try to change the names when we read stories to Rocky so my tongue gets in the habit more!

I also have decided that where there is a "Dad" event, I want to be the "Dad" - (ie. father's day things at school) -- I would love me some macaroni pencil cups way more than egg-carton flowers So I'm happy to be Mama-Dad, even though I'm totally not "Dad"-identified in any other way.

[healz413]

Apr 20, 2015 12:09:45 GMT -5 megd893 said:

Thanks for the well wishes guys, it's VERY much appreciated.

I decided that it was silly for me to worry. I went to the hospital (its a 2 minute drive from my office). Went into emerg and was there less than 5 minutes before being sent up to 4th floor/childbirth. They did my intake there, wristbanded me and I was on a bed within 10 minutes. They booked me and my boy up to two monitors (what I think was a fetal stress test) one for my uteran contractions and one to monitor his heartbeat. They also gave me what looked like a jeopardy buzzer/call button to press every time he moved.
20 minutes on that, and found out that he's doing really well - nothing to be concerned about with his kicks. I counted them last night and it was taking a substantial amount of time for him to hit 10 (45-50 minutes when he's usually about 11 minutes). She said not to be concerned unless you do it and feel less than 6 in TWO hours, so that was a relief.
They called my doc who came to the hospital to do a "spec test". Essentially he used the speculum and a light to check my cervix and do a few swabs to make sure what I was leaking wasn't amniotic. It wasn't thank God. So, I was sent on my merry way and told not to hesitate to come back. It's what they're there for

This makes me feel so much better! I know it's not my place to worry, but I do worry. I'm glad you went in and that they got you in right away and treated you seriously.

Hopefully feelings like this will never be something bad for you, but they could be. And I completely agree with your doctor about it being much better for you to go in than not go in. This is especially true since you're far enough along, that if there was a major problem, they could do something immediately (even if they had to do a c-section) with very high chances of a good outcome.

Anyway, so happy things are going just fine for you!

[megd893]

healz413 - you know I waivered on it. Going vs not going. And, I probably apologized too many times for "wasting their time", but I left ligther. Feeling better. Everyone reassured me I was NOT wasting their time and that people like me are the reason that the nurses have jobs.
This is my first pregnancy, so I can try to be rational as much as I want, but I have a feeling the further I get the more anxious I'm going to be.
At the end of the day, I'd rather they tell me everything is great, we're okay and can go than waiting too long and regretting it.

Thank you, for your sweet words

ETA:  manada you're pregnant too!  I'm glad you chimed in today.  I'm sorry to hear you're having so much anxiety.  While I can't pretend to understand it, I feel like allowing yourself to feel those things are good.  May not be easy or convenient to have a meltdown, but they're your feelings - so feel them.  Hopefully, and as your milestones continue, your anxiety will decrease somewhat.  Hopefully you can go on Thursday and see your little R3 with H!  That would be wonderful.  You have a name contender!! Exciting!!  Do you know boy or girl, or are you going gender neutral name?  

[karlamo]

megd893, Glad to read all checked out and you're not leaking fluid.

healz413, manada, this morning mamosey sent me a NY Times article on PTSD in pregnancy after dealing with IF.
We had always talked about feeling like we were suffering from it but didn't realize that it was an actual condition till I read the article. I'm sure you have read lots on this but if you want me to forward it to you, let me know.

[officerofthelaw]

I am just about 11 weeks and we have a 12 week sonogram next week. We are also going to test chromosomes for gender and abnormalities. So hopefully we will know what we are having before we leave for our baby on next Friday!

Our baby is going to call us mom, mommy, or momma. I don't believe in having us be specified. We are both their mothers.

[manada]

megd893 - Glad everything is okay too! Sometimes I let H. reply for us both... but yeah, don't worry about going in - it's way better to go than not and wonder (says me, who's the queen of anxiety)

We are shooting toward a gender-neutral first name again, and a gendered middle name (I like them to balance each other out). We have a top contender that I think may probably win, because I already think of Rocky as that name in my head sometimes -- but we'll see, that may totally chance. I like it because it's gender-neutral and makes a good sibset with Tavin & Casey, so we'll see My only holdback is that the name has a prefix that has been VERY popular itself (and in a couple different versions of endings with it) in the past 5 years (although I think it's dropped down on the lists recently), and I worry that that part will be used as a nickname because I really don't like that nickname at all.

[ionaerebor]

I like how I start the check-in because work is slow and then don't actually check in until quarter to one on Tuesday morning.


Anyhow, I'm nine weeks pregnant today! And guess what? I FINALLY have my first midwife appointment this week. I'm so excited. I have a list of questions somewhere that I was to ask, but I'm too tired to remember what they are right now. I know I want to ask to have a U/S scan though. It's on Thursday so I'll update again after.

We also announced to my dad & that side of my family on Sunday via Skype. It was kind of awkward, to be honest, though my step-mum is excited she gets to be a 'young' grandma (she's 55), unlike my parents who are both in their sixties. They were excited for their first grandchild though, and I wasn't sure how they'd take it, so that's good.

QOTW: We kind of have it easy deciding who will be what. Since A is Finnish, she'll be Äiti and I'll be Mum/Mummy, though we will probably also go by Mamma and Mor, since those are the Swedish terms.

[twotxmommies]

megd893 - so glad all turned out well.

Kevinandjesse - 27 weeks is awesome! Congratz on the milestone.

officerofthelaw - We did the chromosomes test as well at 12 weeks. It took about 5 days to get the results. They said it takes longer for girls because they have to separate moms DNA from babies. We are having a boy so we knew a few days earlier. Finding out that everything was ok re: chromosomes was a great feeling. (Although no matter what we would have loved him) We did it so that we would be prepared as much as possible.


26w1d today and so freakin tired! I am starting to dread the night. Long gone are the days of sweet dreams and endless peaceful rest... now its leg cramps followed by wrestles leg, peeing every hr. and insomnia. If I am able to fall asleep for a moment I have crazy dreams that wake me! My days are filled with groggy headed nonsense and I am sure I look as bad as I feel! But... baby is doing great. We got to see him yesterday via 3D ultrasound. He has grown so much since our 20 week scan. I think he already looks just like my DW. She has a very strong jaw and so does he. I may be addicted to 3d ultrasounds:{ Weighing in at 2.2 lbs., he is right on track! Oh, and his nursery is finally painted. Although we still have a long way to go before is is done and baby ready.

[megd893]

ionaerebor - so glad to hear about the positive reactions you got. always makes you warm and fuzzy inside when people meet your expectations. Congratulations!
twotxmommies - thanks so much! So glad to hear all your awesome updates (on baby) and so sorry for all the pregnancy crap (that we secretly enjoy because we get to do this). Have you guys settled on a name yet?

[twotxmommies]

@megad893 - so true! lol I would not trade it for the world.
Baby name or what he will call us?

I think we will try for Momma (DW) and Mom or Mommy (me). Not sure if it will stick but it’s the plan for now.

As far as his name, it will be Carter. Not fixed on middle yet... taking suggestions.

[megd893]

twotxmommies - I LOVE the name Carter!! Our last name is a two-syllable name ending in -er as well... so unfortunately they didnt "go" together

Do you have anyone in either of your lives you'd want to honour with a name-check as the middle name? Boy and
girl, we're using family names as middle names. K is deciding our boy's middle name (Im thinking he'll end up with Gilbert in there). The middle name is rarely used, but can be an awesome connection/story.

So exciting!!